


Plus One

by coeurastronaute



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, fake dating au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-23 22:51:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16627955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coeurastronaute/pseuds/coeurastronaute
Summary: Lexa is relatively well-adjusted after a rather nasty break up with someone she thought she loved, but when she gets the invitation to Costia's wedding, she's very unsure of why her sister insists she show up and prove she's moved on-- when she already has.





	Plus One

“I’m not going. This is stupid,” Lexa lamented as she sipped her coffee. She slumped back in her chair and stared at her fingers picking at the holder anxiously.

“You have to go.”

“I don’t, and I’m not. It was a courtesy invitation, and that’s all.”

“Which is exactly why you have to go,” Anya explained, already annoyed at her sister’s antics and moping. “You have to show her that you moved on and it didn’t take forever for you to get over her. Costia needs to see that you got someone nicer and better and smarter and hotter.”

“I’m fine. I’m over her. I don’t have to go to prove anything. And,” she twisted up her face at the realization, “I haven’t found anyone all of those things. I haven’t even tried.”

The café filled with people grabbing some sustenance while the two sat at their normal table. For the better part of the conversation, Lexa regretted mentioning that she’d gotten her ex’s wedding invitation. She also hated that now she would have to listen to her sister’s opinions on the matter.

“That’s my point! You haven’t even looked! Costia cheated on you, broke your heart, stole four years of your life, and then asked to be friends after it was all over,” she recited. “Now she invites you to her wedding and you’re supposed to go and be happy? No way.”

“We’re friends. It was the nice thing to do, but I probably won’t go.”

“You have to go and show her what’s what.”

“What does that even mean?” Lexa shook her head and sipped her coffee as she let her gaze wander to the window and the city outside.

The coffee shop was bustling, filled with people reading and writing and talking and laughing, but it did nothing to make Lexa feel any better about the invitation. She refused to look at her sister because she knew exactly the look she was getting.

“You find yourself a hot date and make her see that you weren’t even bothered at all.”

“That’s stupid.”

“It’s brilliant.”

“It’s petty.”

“Think about it,” Anya said excitedly. “You go to the wedding, you take a smoking hot lady, and you end it, once and for all. You prove that you aren’t even thinking about Costia.”

“It’s over. It’s been over for years.”

“All you do is work.”

“I run my own business,” Lexa sighed, shaking her head. “I want to be successful. And I am over her. I’ve dated.”

All that Anya could do was shake her head and give a heavy groan of complaint. She was never a fan of Costia, and she was certainly more than happy to see it over, though never happy to see how gutted it made her sister.

There wasn’t a doubt that Lexa loved Costia. She’d been her first real love. There’d been girlfriends before, but something always came up, always ended it before six months. Something about Costia was different, and for the life of her Anya never knew why, and her sister could never explain it.

And while it was true that Lexa was busy, her sister never believed much else. She didn’t buy the other girls and going out and being over Costia. Someone over their ex wouldn’t look so glum about a wedding invitation.

“You have to show her. Just think about it.”

“I never would have imagined you’d be advocating me going to Costia’s wedding.”

“I’m advocating you getting laid and rubbing it in her face.”

“Okay, are you done?” Lexa laughed and hoped all at once.

From the table, she looked back over the café while her workers went about their jobs, not really needing her to do their jobs. She didn’t care, she still liked to work normal hours. Unfortunately she hired competent people and so she wasn’t needed and couldn’t be saved from her sister.

“Think about it.”

Lexa shook her head and sighed, hoping it was enough.

* * *

The problem was that Lexa did think about it.

She thought about it all night as she locked up the doors in her café. She let it bother her when she met a few friends out for drinks. She even let it follow her as she told them about her sister’s plan, to which they eagerly agreed, much to her own disappointment and shaming.

The problem was that Lexa thought about it all night.

She thought about it after a few glasses of beer. She thought about it as her brain got a little dizzy and her fingers moved on her keyboard.

Wanted: Beautiful, intelligent, kind, caring, smart, funny woman to show off to my ex at her wedding. Trip to wine country included… Honestly, the other stuff doesn’t matter, just be super hot.

With a grin, she emailed it to her sister, asking if she should post it somewhere.

Still, the thought nagged at her until she opened her ex’s profile. The pictures didn’t hurt her, didn’t bother her. It was like looking at a memory. In reality, she didn’t know Costia anymore, and that was alright. In the years apart, Lexa had grown her little place into a business, and she survived and mended. She just wasn’t sure she was ready for anything with someone else. She got good at being alone and wounded.

With a half drunk revelation about her place in life that she hoped she would forget, Lexa fell asleep and vowed to never think about Costia’s wedding again.

* * *

Lexa was mildly successful. After about a week, her sister didn’t bring it up, and she forgot to return the RSVP. It faded away to nothing, and she continued her normal life just as she had since Costia got kicked out and left for good.

“I’ve found her,” Anya sprinted into the coffee shop, nearly panting and half skidding past the counter.

From the booth in the back where she worked on the books, Lexa adjusted her glasses as she looked up and watched her sister frantically look around the counter for her. She perked up when she met Lexa’s eyes and continued to weave back through the tables, shedding a scarf and bag in the process.

“I’ve found your date!”

“I don’t need a date,” Lexa furrowed, forgetting about the stupid wedding. “I have three employees on vacation next week. I’m fine. I’ve told you–”

“Shh. Hush. Shh-shh-shhut your face,” she shook her head and tried to catch her breath still. “I ran the whole way here. I haven’t ran anywhere, ever.”

“You could have texted–”

“Shhh!”

With a roll of her eyes, Lexa waited patiently for her sister. She had bills to pay and she had stuff to get done for the day. After their mom left, Anya grew up almost overnight. The tender age of twelve and suddenly making sure Lexa was okay. It was a hard habit to break. Even fifteen years later.

“We don’t have much time, but through a series of events, I may have forwarded your email to most of my company, meaning all of my company,” she explained, holding up her hand as her sister moved to interrupt and complain. “But I did find you a date.”

“You… You…” Lexa squinted and stared at her sister incredulously. Her mouth wanted to move, but she was too mortified. “You WHAT?”

It came out louder that Lexa normally sounded, which surprised her sister slightly. A few people mingling in the coffee shop looked over, though she didn’t notice. Instead, she just stared at Anya and waited to find the proper words. They’d never come though. She knew it. Her brain was too frazzled.

“Just be calm. Sit up straight. Fix your hair. Be charming,” her sister insisted.

“Anya, I can’t possibly–”

The words stalled as she trailed off slowly when she saw a beautiful girl appear in her coffee shop. But as much as she was distracted, she found her senses again and shook away the thought before giving her sister another glare.

“I’m not doing this,” she hissed, ignoring Anya’s self-satisfied grin.

“Yes you are. You need this.”

“You’re not pimping me out to a strang–”

“Yes I am.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Too late.”

“Am I interrupting?” the girl in question appeared, all too close for Lexa’s comfort.

“No!” Anya said, much too loudly. “No, no, not at all.” With a pointed look, she found her smile to put the stranger at ease. “Clarke, I’d like you to meet my sister, Lexa.”

“Hi,” the blonde smiled

Lexa gaped for a second, pursing her lips shut as she gulped. It was more of a problem than she’d expected. How a girl like that answered a stupid email, as lost on Lexa. But her sister nudged her shoulder and she came back around.

“Hello,” she managed stiffly, earning another nudge. “I– Um. Could I get you a coffee?”

“Sit, sit,” Anya interrupted. “I’ll go get them for you both. Take your time. Get to know each other. Work it out. I know where everything is. Lexa owns this place. Pretty good coffee. What can I get you, Clarke?”

“What do you recommend?” she asked, turning to the owner with a natural smile on her face. Lexa could make out the hint of a dimple on the blonde’s cheek and that was trouble.

“Matcha cappuccino,” Lexa decided. “We just got some new leaves in from one of my friends in Kyoto.”

“Two of those, coming right up,” her sister clapped her hands. “You two sit and get acquainted.”

In a second, she was gone, weaving through the tables toward the counter, leaving the two strangers standing there, awkwardly looking back and forth at each other until Lexa held out her hand and motioned for Clarke to take the chair her sister already offered. Awkwardly, she gave a weary smile and tried to figure out where to start.

* * *

From the get go, Lexa could see that Clarke was essentially the opposite of her ex. Where Costia was tall and slender, Clarke was shorter and curvy. Where there was dark, curly hair, no was blonde waves. Gone were brown eyes and in their place was blue ones; bluer than any blue had a right to be. And the smile. Clarke had a constant smile, always right there and eager and warm.

Lexa blushed when she realized she’d met Clarke’s eyes again after staring at her lips, her cheeks growing pink with the blush of being found out.

“I’m really sorry my sister’s pulling you into this mess,” Lexa finally began, all the words bubbling up from her chest and spilling out of her mouth. “I’m severely embarrassed that it got forwarded. It was just a joke, and I don’t even want to go, but I also don’t think it’s fair to ask someone to preten–”

“Easy there, tiger,” Clarke chuckled as Lexa spun out. “No one dragged me into it. I volunteered.”

“But… why?”

“I’d had a few glasses of wine when I responded, to be honest,” she shrugged. “And then Anya seemed so grateful and relieved. I’m also kind of excited for an adventure. If I wrote a bucket list, I’d like to think crashing an ex’s wedding just to spite them would be on it.”

“Let me just get this straight. You’d willingly go and pretend to be my girlfriend to make my ex mad, just for fun?”

“Makes me sound a bit psychotic when you put it like that,” she frowned before perking back up. “But yeah. Why not? Should be some good karma in there somewhere.”

Lexa stared at the stranger, torn between amazement at the good intentions on display and the absolute absurdity of it all. She couldn’t just go with someone she just met to Costia’s fancy, Napa wedding. That would be bad. And wrong. Wrong and bad. That would be crazy. And yet, it was suddenly an option.

“You’re really sure about this, aren’t you?” Lexa finally asked.

“I’m a fairly good fake date. If you’d like references, you can ask my high school boyfriend. I was his beard for two years for family functions.” 

“Ah, so you’re a professional fake girlfriend?”

“I think that’s an escort-in-training, to be precise,” Clarke decided before seeing Lexa’s face fall slightly. “I’m kidding, obviously. That was a joke.”

“Thank goodness.”

Before either could say anything else, two cups appeared with frothy green and white foam were slid on the table, right on top of Lexa’s work and papers and notebook. She looked between the two of them and smiled expectantly.

“You two seem like you’re talking. Going well?” Anya hoped.

The hope in her tone was evident from the get go, and Lexa didn’t really know what to say, so she just shrugged and looked at Clarke who did much the same thing.

“It’s alright,” Lexa finally tried, earning a nod from the blonde across the table.

“Good, good,” she smiled. “I’m just going to head back to work and let you two crazy kids iron out the details. I’m sure this is going to be great.”

Once more, Anya gave her sister a pointed look and communicated a few things to her through her face before giving Clarke a smile, resuming the happy front. To her credit, Lexa didn’t completely die of embarrassment just yet.

“So, you run this place?” Clarke asked, blowing on her drink before taking a sip.

“Own it.”

“Wow. No wonder you look so stressed. I can’t imagine the pressure.”

“I get by alright.”

For a moment, she didn’t have much else to say, but Lexa felt like she should. There was this weird feeling of wanting to say things to put the girl across her at ease, and she really wasn’t sure how.

“This is good.”

“Thank you,” Lexa smiled weakly as she quickly processed the information that came from the amiable stranger. “So you’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

From across the table, Clarke carefully put down the mug of delicious coffee with care and from beneath her lashes, in an absolutely stunning kind of look that was enough to make Lexa’s mouth go instantly dry, she met her eyes and she let her lip quirk up on the corner slowly and just enough.

“Lexa, there are moments when you just have to be someone’s fake girlfriend. It’s a service to the world.”

“To the world, huh?”

“I had a pretty gnarly break up a few months ago. My friends say I need to get out. This seems like a low-pressure introduction, and for some reason, hiding behind an act of charity makes it easier for me to put myself out there.”

With a sigh and another sip of her cup, Lexa looked around the coffee shop and mulled. She was someone who mulled. She took time to decide things. Never one to be rash or impetuous, unless apparently a lot of wine was involved, Lexa tried to turn it around from all sides.

Clarke just sipped and smiled, careful to wipe the foam that got caught on her lips.

“We don’t have to touch or be super personal. I won’t ask you do to something you aren’t comfortable with. This is strictly pretend, or even it’s like friends, hanging out.”

“Well, you’re a sweet fake girlfriend,” Clarke beamed.

“I’m not doing this to get my ex back or to sleep with you or anything like that. Anya thinks that showing up with a beautiful girl would just be a nice way to turn the page.”

“I kind of agree. Your sister wants you to show your ex that you’ve moved on and she missed out. I think that’s fair.”

“I’m over her. I am. I think that’s why this feels weird.”

“You don’t want to seem like you’re trying too hard when you’re actually okay,” Clarke nodded, understanding perfectly. “But you also are still kind of hurt and don’t want to go alone because that would seem weird.”

“Super weird, right?”

Clarke just chuckled and nodded.

“It’s kind of weird being this honest with a complete stranger.”

“Yeah, or with anyone,” Lexa mumbled slightly to herself.

“If you want, you can think it over. You don’t have to decide. I think it’s just nice to know that you have the option to have someone to hang out with and make it less weird at your ex’s wedding.”

The nice girl nodded politely and finished her coffee. There was a kind of pink in her cheeks that made her eyes seem clearer.

“You’re really serious?”

“I am,” Clarke nodded. “You seem relatively normal minus this whole thing.”

In a move, Clarke reached across the table and picked up a pen before snagging a napkin. She jotted down her number and slid it across the table.

“I still can’t believe you’re serious,” Lexa shook her head despite seeing the number.

“Me neither. Just let me know. I should head back to work,” she offered, standing up from the table finally. “It was nice to meet you.”

“It was nice to meet you.”

Lexa stood as well, though the moment she did, she regret it and was unsure why. Instead, she just remained and somehow stuck her hand out to shake as if it were an interview. Nice enough, Clarke smiled and shook her hand before heading back toward the entrance and tossing a wave over her shoulder.

It wasn’t until Clarke was gone that Lexa sat back down and picked up the napkin tenderly. She smiled slightly at the whirlwind that just happened. She wasn’t ever that honest, and she was never that vulnerable, but two minutes with a pretty girl and she was confessing it all.

“Where did she go? What did you do?” Anya worried, sitting quickly.

“I didn’t do anything. I can’t believe you did this though. She was nice and seemed normal and you–”

“I found you a wedding date, if you didn’t scare her off.”

“I have to think about it.”

“What is there to think about? I hand-delivered a hot blonde who is just weird enough to accept your drunken offer for a date to your ex’s wedding.”

“I am still not sure I’m going,” Lexa shook her head.

Carefully, she folded the napkin and slid it in the pocket of her shirt.

Her sister rolled her eyes and groaned.

“You’re impossible.”

* * *

For the entirety of the evening, well after the coffee shop was closed and Lexa was back in her own place, the weight of the napkin tucked into her shirt pocket weighed heavily upon her chest. She refused to look at it to confirm the numbers and the slopes and curves of Clarke’s name just above it.

But like a little thought worm that burrowed deep into her brain, she couldn’t reach it to evict it. The notion existed within her and she couldn’t escape it.

Once again, Lexa opened up her ex’s website and perused the pictures. There was a distinct lack of connection there anymore, and yet the book wasn’t shut. Clarke was right– Lexa needed to go there and make sure. She had to feel the disconnect in person. She had to free herself of this nagging need to feel something. And Clarke had the qualifications for it. She was pretty and funny and sympathetic to a weirdo’s weird request.

After another lap of pacing through her house, Lexa stood still as a statue in her living room before tugging the napkin out and dialing the number.

“Hello?” Clarke greeted on the sixth right, right before Lexa was prepared to chalk it up to a loss.

“Clarke? It’s Lexa. Lexa Woods. Anya’s sister. We met earlier at my coffee shop. About the, er– the um– wedding?”

It all came out so quick that her brain was even catching up quick enough to be embarrassed for the incoherence.

“Ah, yes. I remember.”

There was some amusement in her voice and that did not make it any easier.

“Would you go with me to my ex’s wedding?” Lexa blurted. “I think my sister might be right.”

“Don’t tell her that.”

“I was going to ask you the same thing.”

“So you’re asking for a smokeshow and arm candy to show off and help with closure?”

“Yeah, but I’m kind of okay with you hanging out with me. You have a pretty good grip on what I’m feeling.”

“I would love to be your fake girlfriend, but I have one condition.”

“Oh God,” Lexa goraned, flopping down on her couch as the embarrassment caught up with her and she knew enough to be nervous.

“I get to make up our origin story.”

“Sold!” she barked. “I don’t want to think about anything.”

“Perfect. Should we go over the details?”

“I’ll email you the reservations, and of course I’ll book your plane ticket.”

“How chivalrous of you, darling,” Clarke teased.

There was a moment of quiet before Lexa took a deep breath.

“Thank you for doing this. It means a lot to me, a complete stranger.”

“I get a paid-for vacation and I love dancing at weddings. This works out for both of us.”

“Whatever you say, Clarke.”


End file.
